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J U LY 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
Be aware that the telltale muscle rigidity might not occur where you'd expect.
"The very first case of MH I ever experienced occurred when I was working with
an oral surgery resident who was on his anesthesia rotation," says Dr. Herlich. "He
recognized the attack because the patient's forearm muscle tightened, not the mas-
seter muscle, which is the one that usually does."
Trust your instincts, and don't discount MH as a possibility when early warning
signs manifest. "Denial — this can't be happening to us — is the worst way to
react," says Dr. Herlich. "By the time you get to rescuing, it's too late."
• Call for help.
Gather every available member of your clinical team to the
patient's bedside, and call 911 and the MHAUS hotline (
800-644-9737
)
.
The expert
volunteers who staff the hotline are available 24/7 to help you manage emergen-
cies or answer questions before or after anesthesia induction. You can also call
P A T I E N T S A F E T Y
What must it be like to be on the receiving end of a call to
the emergency hotline of the Malignant Hyperthermia
Association of the United States?
"I'll tell you exactly what it's like," says anesthesiologist
Andrew Herlich, DMD, MD, FAAP, professor and vice chair
for faculty development at the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine, who volunteers his services to
MHAUS. "The very first case I got called about involved a
3-year-old. Two hours into the case the surgical team realized something was wrong.
"The kid ultimately died," recalls Dr. Herlich, traces of the memories and emotions of
the day still evident in his voice. "I needed help for post-traumatic stress disorder, and
wasn't even actively involved in the case.
"Was that a typical outcome? No," he says. "But you can imagine the emotional bur-
den surgical teams feel during MH events when trying to save the young, healthy lives
they're responsible for."
— Daniel Cook
HOTLINE HEROES
Answering the Calls for Help
LIFE LINE Surgical teams can
get real-time expert advice dur-
ing emergencies.
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